Chapter 10 - Sam
Over the last several years, I have learned how to navigate the elders.
I understood how they operated and how they always thought they were in the right, no matter what.
I knew that you had to speak to them with deference and respect.
I had figured out that they were confident that they knew the ins and outs of the entire pack.
Although the alpha was in charge, they believed all decisions should go through them.
I had also learned that they were arrogant, infuriating, and had no idea about the nuances of running Silver Falls, no matter what they told themselves.
“I understand that you want answers, but at the moment we don’t have any,” Elias said, eyeing the three tall men on the other side of his desk, not breaking eye contact. “We’ll let you know when we have more concrete information that we can act on.”
I stood behind Elias near the wall, eyes darting between the three elders, their hair all different levels of gray, their backs rigid as they puffed out their chests with self-importance.
Each wore a disdainful expression that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a disgruntled noble.
Behind them, however, stood the Oracle, watching the proceedings in perfect silence, an impartial observer.
“We were expecting something more by now,” Romulus, one of the elders, growled. “What have you been doing, precisely?”
“You mean besides keeping the pack protected?” Elias said, his voice dangerously even. Usually, when he used that voice, it came a few moments before an outburst where you would want to be in the next state. I had been on the receiving end of that voice once before. So had most of the pack guard.
If the elders noticed the danger, they ignored it.
“We’re worried about our pack,” Thaddeus insisted. “We are trying to keep them safe.”
“And we’re doing that,” Elias responded. “We’ve gotten several new recruits into the guard, and we’re increasing patrols.”
“What about the lair?” Romulus demanded. “You said you were searching for it. It doesn’t seem as though you have made much progress on that end.”
Elias’s hand curled into a fist against the desk. “We have some leads,” he said.
“‘Leads’?” Dorian sneered with disdain. “Is that really all you can tell us?”
I growled, moving from my place against the wall until I stood directly in front of Dorian, looking down on his leathery face, his gray hair beginning to bald in the center.
“Don’t forget your place, Dorian,” I snarled.
“That’s your alpha you’re talking to. Just because you’re a pack elder doesn’t give you the right to question his decisions or demand results.
If you stopped pestering us, maybe we would be able to get some more work done, but you elders have your heads so far up your—”
“That’s enough,” Elias growled from behind me.
I turned as he stood from his desk, shooting me a warning look.
To the elders, he said, “I understand your concern, but you coming here and berating your alpha isn’t doing anyone any favors.
If you can’t accept my leadership, then we have bigger problems. In the meantime, I think you should all leave and let us take care of business. You’re distracting us.”
For a moment, none of the elders moved, and I thought I was going to have to drag them out myself.
“You still need to keep us informed,” Thaddeus said petulantly.
“We will,” Elias promised. “Though barging into my office without an appointment is no longer going to be acceptable, do you understand?”
Silence rang out as Elias stared down each of the elders. One by one, they all glanced away.
“We’ll be in touch,” Romulus promised, the only thing he could say that would save face.
“I’m sure you will,” I growled.
The elders began to file out. Just as she was about to leave, the Oracle, who had been silent for the entirety of the meeting, tugged me to the side.
“How is Rachel?” she asked, her voice quiet enough that only I could hear.
My brow furrowed as I stared at her. Something about the intense way she stared as she asked set alarm bells ringing in my head.
“She’s fine,” I said, trying to hide the growing unease. “Why?”
“You should keep a close eye on her,” she said.
I had to force myself not to grip the Oracle and shake her to stop her being so cryptic. “Why? Is something going to happen to her?”
She pursed her lips, not in anger, but more in frustration at herself as she gave the briefest of frowns. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “All I know is that something is going to happen to make her cross paths with the wraith.”
The air seemed to rush out of my lungs, even as I tried to keep calm. There was no way in hell I was going to let that happen.
I could feel Elias’s eyes boring into us. I ignored him, too intent on finding out as much as possible. The more I knew, the better a chance I had at stopping whatever it was. I needed to keep Rachel safe.
In my mind, I was already promising myself that if I had to keep her in the house for the next year, I would make sure that she didn’t get within a mile of the wraith. I wasn’t going to let whatever the Oracle saw come to fruition.
As if she could read my mind, she gave a speculative look. “You aren’t able to fight fate, Sam. Just remember that.”
I didn’t care what she said. I would fight fate as much as I had to in order to protect Rachel.
“Do you see anything else?” I asked. The more she saw, the more I could find out, and the better chance I had at keeping Rachel safe. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.
She shook her head. “I can’t see more than that, or any details.
But I know she has a larger part to play in what’s to come than any of us anticipated, particularly her.
” She stared at me with those eyes that always seemed to know more than she told anyone.
“Maybe that’s the reason it was time for the two of you to be mated. I’m not sure.”
Unease and panic rippled through both my wolf and me. Just the thought of Rachel being hurt drove me insane. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her because I didn’t want to know what it would be like without her. Thinking it was bad enough.
“I’ll keep her safe,” I told her.
The Oracle smiled and patted my shoulder. “I know you will,” she said. “But some things are out of your control, and you should remember that.”
Something about the words sent uncomfortable chills running up my spine, and I tried to stop myself from shivering.
As I stared down at the Oracle, I made myself a promise: I was going to do everything in my power to protect Rachel, even if she hated me for it.
I wasn’t about to let anything hurt her, not so long as I could breathe.
“Thank you for the heads up,” I said.
She gave a warm smile. “Of course, dear.” She patted me on the shoulder, all but reaching on tiptoe to do so, then she slipped out to follow the rest of the elders.
“Everything all right?” Elias asked. When I turned, I saw with a jolt that he was watching me with maybe a little too much interest. I had to wonder how much he had overheard.
Shrugging, I didn’t let myself look away from him, knowing he could read my expressions like a book.
“Yeah. She was just asking about how Rachel and I were doing. That’s all.”
“How are you and Rachel doing?” Elias asked, his tone a little too casual. He stared at me with an intensity that made me glance away.
“Fine,” I said with a bored shrug. “Not a whole lot to report. We’re getting along. We do our own thing most of the time.”
“The mating bond hasn’t been too much of an issue?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
It had been a hell of a problem. I couldn’t be in the same room with her for more than a few minutes without having to resist the urge to grab her and have my way with her.
Every time I caught a whiff of her scent, I wanted to throw caution to the wind.
I had always cared about her, but the mating bond had made that even more acute, and I had to restrain myself every time I saw her.
I wanted to taste her, to feel her mouth on mine, to have her entirely.
“Nah, it’s been fine,” I said with a shrug. “We figured it out. Really, it’s just like we’re roommates at this point.” Except I had never wanted a roommate the way I wanted Rachel. Living under the same roof as her was torture sometimes.
I did my best to keep my expression neutral as Elias studied me as if trying to find holes in the story. After a minute, he turned to look back at the notes on his desk.
“That’s good,” he said. “I was worried it would be awkward, so I’m glad you two are working it out.”
“Working it out” was one way of describing it. Holding back with all my strength felt more apt, though.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” I promised.
***
We followed the ravine, a low creek running along next to us as we searched for signs of the demons. We had caught wind of some activity in the area, and we had come to lay a trap for them. So far, though, we hadn’t seen much indication of any of them.
Just as I was thinking it, Drake, walking alongside me, froze. He held up his hand, his head swiveling. His nostrils flared as his eyes darted all over, his shoulders tensing. His eyes narrowed, and he let out a low, rumbling growl.
“They’re nearby.”
Then a malicious cackling filled the air, more voices than there should have been, and a swarm of demons emerged overhead on the lip of the ravine and before us. When I turned back around, I saw more of them closing in from behind.
“Shit,” I snarled. “It was a trap.”
The demons swarmed down the ravine toward us and raced forward to meet us, closing in and surrounding the small group.
They surrounded us, lunging forward. I darted out with the blade, slicing into the first imp and causing it to stagger backward.
The second one lunged, biting into my hand and forcing me to drop the blade.
I snarled, shaking the imp off even as my hand throbbed painfully. We were outnumbered, and they were far more organized than we had anticipated.
I glanced around, searching for a way out. There wasn’t one, not if we didn’t tear all these creatures to shreds.
Well, if that was what we had to do, that’s what we’d do. These things weren’t getting the better of us.
I let out the battle cry, and everyone got into formation behind me as we prepared to fight.